In 2015, Rush embarked on their R40 tour. Billed as their final tour, the band played 35 shows from May to August in celebration of the 40th anniversary of drummer Neil Peart joining the band.
Reflecting on the farewell tour in a recent interview with Classic Rock, Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee admitted that those 35 shows were a rollercoaster of emotions, noting that while they thought the shows were fantastic, their ages made playing those long gigs challenging.
But despite the difficulties, Lifeson confessed that both he and Lee were disappointed by the size of the tour, and wished they had booked more shows.
“Ged and I were disappointed that Neil [Peart] demanded playing only a limited number of dates… I think a dozen or so more dates would have made us a bit more accepting,” he said.
The guitarist went on to say that as the tour went on, Peart became more open to adding more shows, but that his unexpected injury stopped that from happening.
“Then he got this painful infection in one of his feet. I mean, he could barely walk to the stage at one point. They got him a golf cart to drive him to the stage.”
“And he played a three-hour show, at the intensity he played every single show. That was amazing, but I think that was the point where he decided that the tour was only going to go on until that final show in LA.”
